Rubber-tired tractors have long been preferred by agricultural farmers over track-type tractors since the rubber-tired tractors have roading capabilities; that is, they cause relatively little damage to road surfaces. To adapt a track-type tractor to agricultural use, it has been the practice to alter the track shoes of the track-type tractor for roading purposes by attaching rubber grousers thereto. Typically, this is accomplished by bonding a rubber grouser to the outer face of a steel anchor plate which is, in turn, bolted to the track shoe. A typical such grouser arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,635,596, issued on July 12, 1927 to R. H. White.
A common problem encountered with known rubber grouser arrangements is that during operation, moisture and particles of soil, rock, ice, and the like are forced into the bonded boundary area between the rubber grouser and the steel anchor plate. The bond between the steel and rubber thus becomes progressively weakened and destroyed, requiring repair or replacement of the rubber grousers. Furthermore, in operation of known roadable track-type tractors, portions of the rubber grouser adjacent to the anchor plate are subjected to high tensile stresses in operation, further promoting bond failure of the rubber grouser-anchor plate assembly.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.